


Honey! I Shrunk The Keith!!

by NightLightSenpai



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First fanfic ever, Geckos!, M/M, Panic attack in chap 2, So be nice!!, Very minor violence if any, What are Tags?, klance, they/them pronouns for Pidge, tiny keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightLightSenpai/pseuds/NightLightSenpai
Summary: Lance breathed in heavily.This is fine. This is great. Keith is a foot tall and a slight bit of wind could push him over and kill him.... Not a problem though...it’ll wear off soon...It's fine.. Lance can totally take care of his tiny teammate until then. He has this in the bag! It'll be fine...yeah...
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 44





	1. The Incredible Shrinking Keith

**Author's Note:**

> Ok first fanfic ever, so this may or may not suck. I'll do my best, and I WILL finish I swear on my soul. This is the pic that inspired this work:  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502995852134198416/comments/5134636720836360181/  
> And here is what the geckos were inspired by:  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/327285097890722581/ 
> 
> This was supposed to be a one-shot but my heart resides in long artworks so I'll try to keep this relatively short.  
> Without further ado- here is the first chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fanfic ever, so I'll probably mess up a couple things. I apologize in advance for the messed up writing schedule, I'm going through a rough patch. Feedback is appreciated. Plz enjoy :) <3

As far as Lance was concerned, this planet was the bomb diggity! Eabenon was completely covered in trees and lakes with rolling hills towering over the little cradle of life the planet’s inhabitants lived in. The grass was blue and said to be bioluminescent, that it glowed the same color of the planet’s two moons. But the best part, in Lance’s opinion, was the heavy mist that rained down from towering mountains high above. For the first time in many phoebs, they could actually take their helmets off when visiting a planet and enjoy the mist on their faces. Lance tipped his head back and stared at the warm mist raining down from the massive trees. It was heaven.

“-All our tunnels are filled! Filled we say!! Our technology-ruined!! Buried beneath dirt and water! We will die of boredom!! Our minds will rot! Please help us, Paladins! Please!” The thin cry was echoed by dozens of tiny voices and Lance’s attention snapped back to the meeting table, where Allura was surrounded by a large amount of tiny, blue, foot-high gecko-creatures with massive, massive eyes.

“Yes, yes, I promise we’ll try our best to relocate your village. Do not fear, we will do all we can to help you,” She assured their leader, who was clinging to her dress and circling her with excitement. A tiny voice popped up from Lance’s left from where it was perched on the top of Keith’s helmet...which was still on his head, the loser.

“Do you..do you think you can get our games back?” The baby gecko-creature said. Lance gripped his helmet underneath the table and pinched his lip so as not to “aww” too loudly. The baby couldn’t have been more than five inches high, and was wringing it’s little hands nervously. Allura let out a little coo from the other side of the table and smiled gently.

“We will do our best, and if it’s unsalvageable, maybe our Green Paladin can do something for you,” She gestured to her right where Pidge and Hunk were cradling more baby alien-geckos. Hunk looked like he was about to cry from joy, and Pidge was giggling as one swung from their curls. They looked up at Allura.

“Oh yeah, I can totally figure something out for these guys,” They laughed, and the gecko swung happily back and forth. At this declaration, a tiny cheer went up and Lance sighed wistfully. He turned to Keith and rested his cheek on his hand.

“Maannn, I’m bummed! Why didn’t I get an adorable baby gecko?! Everybody else got one!” He gestured to Shiro, who was kneeling on the ground talking to a parent and their babies, all thanking him profusely and trying to climb all over him in excitement. Then he gestured to the top of Keith’s head. “Even you got one, and you’re all ‘I’m tough as rocks. So where's my cuddle bug?”

Keith very slowly turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Lance. He then pointed at something on the ground near Lance’s foot.

“What’s that then?” He asked, obviously straining to keep a straight face. Lance looked down. Sure enough, curled up and sleeping on top of his armored foot, was a very tiny baby gecko-thing. Lance hid his face in his hands and squealed happily. Ignoring the tiny huff of laughter to his side, he bent over and gently transferred it into his palm before bringing it close to his chest and petting it’s tiny head with his pointer finger.

“Oh, you are just the cutest little bug, aren’t you sweetie? I would die for you in a heartbeat, oh my goodness,” He murmured quietly. Keith chuckled even louder next to them.

“Be careful Lance, we don’t want to offend them,” Keith reminded him, giving him one of those tiny rare smiles. Lance rolled his eyes playfully.

“I’ll be careful, but I swear if there are any orphans I might just have to become a fath-”

“-Paladins! I have your tasks! Please separate from the civilians and meet us at the lions,” Allura called from where she and Shiro were conversing near where the Lions had touched down in the town.

“Aww!” Lance frowned, booping the little baby gently, “I was hoping we could spend a little more playing with you guys.” He bent down and allowed a grown-up gecko to take the baby to the rest of the group. He watched the geckos scuttle together in an excited group, and stood up, popping his joints.

“Oh well, I guess now it’s back to work, at least it’s nice outs-”

“Uh, Lance?” Lance turned around at the sound of Keith’s worried tone.

“Yeah? You okay buddy?” He trotted back over to Keith and snickered when he saw him struggling to get the helmet off his head without flinging off the baby gecko. Keith grunted at the hair stuck to the helmet and looked at Lance pleadingly.

“Could you help them get off? I don’t want to drop them,” He blew at his hair in frustration. Lance chuckled and nodded, putting his hands together and holding them out to the little gecko.

“All right! Fun’s over little friend, time to go back to your parents!” He wiggled his fingers in emphasis.

“Aww! It was fun though! You’re so tall! Taller than Leader!” The little gecko-alien whined, but crawled obediently into Lance’s hands where it wiggled excitedly. He laughed and brought it down between himself and Keith, who was still smiling gently. Lance’s breath hitched in his throat and he quickly looked back down at the gecko.

“Well maybe later we can give you another ride again,” He said as he and Keith walked to the adults.

“Yay!” the little kid wriggled again. “I hope we can be friends! My name’s Squibble!! I’m two moons old!” Lance Keith had reached the adults and watched one come to get Squibble. The adult Gecko-alien laughed and shook their little blue head.

“Now Squibble, these people are going to be very busy helping us, so make sure you thank you, okay?” They took Squibble from Lance’s palms and held them up to say goodbye.

“Bye Lance, Bye Keith!!” Squibble yelled and bobbed their head frantically as a good-bye gesture. Lance and Keith laughed and ducked their heads once in return before turning around and heading to where the rest of the paladins had gathered.

“You’re good with kids, who knew?” Lance laughed and Keith guffawed.

“Not really, all I did was stand still and let them climb on me.” He shook his head fondly. “They really are cute. I don’t think I’ve seen Pidge this happy since the Space Caterpillars.” 

Lance nodded in agreement. It was nice to see everyone so relaxed. It had been a rough couple of weeks. Between fighting and training, nobody had gotten a lot of sleep, so an easy mission was warm and welcome. He and Keith finally reached the rest of the group and circled around Allura and Shiro.

"Okay, so as enthusiastic as these inhabitants are, the threat to their livelihood must be taken seriously. Their tunnels are flooding and not only has it already destroyed their...much-beloved technology- but it threatens their lives if they can't move to safe ground before the next flood." Allura fixed her eyes on Hunk.

"Hunk. I want you to be in charge of gathering food for the Eabenons." She turned to Shiro and then to Lance.

"Lance and Shiro, I want you two transporting citizens to the middle of the mountains. There are natural tunnels up there that won't flood so easily." Shiro nodded and Lance shot his finger guns at her. She smiled fondly before turning to Keith and Pidge.

"And I want you two to be in charge of digging out the remains of their technology. Pidge, your Green Lion can scan for it, yes?" She turned to Pidge.

"Can do, princess!" Pidge grinned and stuck a thumbs up. Allura nodded and turned to Keith.

"I will need you to harness Red's strength and get their technology out of it. The red Lion is very nimble. Use that to your advantage if she starts to get stuck in the mud," She instructed and Keith nodded, already connecting with Red to tell her their next mission.

"I will be navigating with the Eabenon's Leader and with Coran to try and avoid any new storms that could throw us off track. Are we all ready?" She looked around and met each Paladin's eyes. They all looked at each other and smiled. The enthusiasm was invigorating. She laughed a little.

"Then let's go!"

The Paladins broke off, splitting into different directions. Lance and Shiro headed to their lions, and cleared out as much space as they could before finally walking back to the civilians. They crowded around eagerly waiting to see what the Paladins' plans were. Shiro put a supportive hand on Lance's shoulder, and spoke confidently to the crowd.

"Princess Allura and your Leader have found a safe place for you halfway up the mountain. There are tunnels there you can use, and our other Paladins are working on getting your food and technology to help you settle in. Lance and I will be transporting you in our Lions. We'll have to take you in groups of fifteen so please organize yourselves into groups." Before he even stopped talking a cheer rang up and a little baby gecko ran forward until it was perched at Lance's feet.

"Lance! Lance! Can I go in your Lion!?" Lance chuckled, kneeling down to get a better look at Squibble.

"I guess so, as long as your parents are okay with it," He gently bopped them on the head, and they wiggled excitedly before turning around and running directly into the legs of a Grown-up, who had been listening with a smile on their face.

"Can we go? Can we? Please? Please?" They asked, hopping as much as their little legs let them. The parent laughed, seemingly just as energetic.

"Of course! Oh, I'm so excited to be in a Lion of Voltron!" They leaned down, scooped Scibble up, and turned to the paladins . "We'll be right over, after I and my mate round up the rest of the hatchlings!" They then ran off into the rest of the crowd. Lance laughed disbelievingly and stood up.

"Dios mío, no le temen a nada," He murmured quietly. Shiro quirked his lips, seeming to understand a little bit.

"Yeah. If I were them I'd be terrified. But the only time they've shown fear so far was at the threat of boredom," he paused for a moment, "they need to sort out their priorities." He said in a lilting tone. Lance gasped and whipped his head around to stare at him.

"Was that a Harry Potter reference?" He gaped.

"No," Shiro said, and started walking away too quickly for it not to be suspicious.

"It totally was, you just said a reference. Just wait till I tell Hunk, he's gonna lose his shi-"

"Oh look Lance, your first group's ready. And so is mine, guess we'd better go!" Shiro said quickly before bolting to his group, which had crowded around the Black Lion. Lance cackled before walking towards his own Lion, where he could already see Squibble jumping up and down on one of their parent's heads.

It took a surprisingly long amount of time to get everyone in the Lion to settle down. What was even more surprising then that, was that it was entirely the parent's faults.

"Ooh! What's that?!" Cried one of the parents, and got back up from their designated spot to poke at yet another button on the dashboard. Lance sighed, exhausted but fond. Thank goodness that Blue only ever responded to his commands, because he was sure that something would have broken by now if she didn't.

"That's the emergency expulsion button. If I ever get into a situation where I could crash land, the force could hurt me, so that button would fling me from my Lion to stop me from getting crushed." He barely finished his explanation before the other Parent was poking at something else.

"What does this do?" They asked, sniffing at the hand controls. Lance pinched his lips.

_ Is this what I was like when I was little? Buen Dios, mamá, lo siento.  _ He shook his head and opened his mouth to answer, but by then the parents had moved on to something else already. He laughed when he felt Blue rumble with laughter in his mind. 

"They're a bit interesting, aren't they girl?" He mumbled.

Wait a second...

"Hey!" He whispered to the kiddoes. Immediately they all crowded him. 

"You guys ever heard of wrestling?" 

His plan had worked perfectly, if he did say so himself. His Lion had reached the mountain ledge leading to the tunnels before Shiro's even had. The Eabenons were already running through the tunnels, which were far too small for Lance to enter. 

"Lance!" Squibble poked their head out of the tunnel entrance, "are you coming in?" They asked quietly, not seeming to understand why their new friend was still outside in the rain. Lance kneeled down in front of the tunnel and gently explained. 

"I'm too big, there's no way I'd fit. And I've got to go bring more of your pod up." Squibble looked up at Lance in confusion, and he decided to try and distract them to prevent any gecko-tears.

"This is your new home now, how about you go explore, and when I come back you tell me all about it, okay?" He encouraged. Squibble brightened up and wiggled around happily. 

"Okay! Make sure you come back ok?!" They jumped with excitement and Lance laughed warmly. 

"Okay," He assured.

At that, Squibble ran inside and Lance got up to head back to his Lion. He had just gotten back to it as the Black Lion finally landed next to it. He wasn't surprised at all to see that Shiro was the first one out, practically running from the Eabenons. His hair was all fluffed up and his face was red as he ran to Lance. 

"How did you do it?" He grabbed Lance by the shoulders in a vice grip and shook him a bit. Lance stared at him, alarmed. 

"Do what?" He asked. 

"Get them to calm down enough for you to fly! I swear! The rest of my hair is going to turn white!" He whisper-screamed almost hysterically. Lance snorted, trying not to outwardly laugh at him. 

"It seems like this species is entertainment-oriented. So I taught them a modified version of wrestling to them. Every time the parents moved, the kids would jump on them and try to keep them to the floor. If the kids can do that, they win. If the Parents can walk more than three steps, they win," He explained. Shiro stood back for a minute, still a bit wild-eyed. 

"Huh. That's...that's really smart Lance. Good done!" He smiled and clapped Lance on the shoulder. Lance smiled shyly. He felt warm and proud, even if he was going off of what would have entertained himself as a child. Shiro sighed and turned back to his Lion. 

"Now, let's see if that method works for me." 

"Okay Lance, Hunk's team is the last group to transfer. Check in on the other paladins, I'll transfer them over," Shiro called over the comms. Lance could see him in the corner of Blue's screen. Poor guy looked exhausted. Lance nodded groggily. 

"Okie dokie. I'll come right over when I'm done," He affirmed, then turned Blue to go to the base of the mountain, where he could see Red and Green digging at something. Lance connected their comms. 

"Hellloo my friends, what's crackalackin?" He called loudly. 

"Oh no, not  _ you _ ," Pidge teased, Keith and them showing up in a corner of the screen. Keith just rolled his eyes, lips slightly quirked up. 

"We're almost done here. We ran into some problems, but we got their tech out. It just needs to be rinsed off," Keith informed him. He rubbed his face and tugged at his horrid mullet. Lance frowned. 

"Hey Mullet, what happened to your finger?" He asked. Keith looked up, then down at his finger, which had a little bandage around it. 

"I tried to pick a wire off the ground and it shocked me. It's not bad but it stung a bit so I put some healing goo on it. It doesn't seem to be helping though," He glowered at the wounded finger. "It's just tingling now." Lance thought for a second and chewed on his lip a little. Something felt off about this. 

"If you start feeling weird, tell somebody okay? We don't know what their stuff does," He said nervously. Keith just rolled his eyes.

"It's not a big deal. Just a shock, Lance," He scoffed.

"Famous last words," Lance mumbled, gripping his controls. "Well, I'm gonna go back and report to Shiro. And I'm serious Keith, you say something if you feel weird!" 

"I got it, Lance," Keith said, exasperated but fond. 

"See ya later, Tailor," Pidge snickered. 

"Oh  _ god _ ," Lance groaned and hit the metaphorical gas before they could see the blush climb up his ears. Blue rumbled in amusement, a soothing calm over his frazzled nerves. 

"Oh shush, I'm just looking out for my teammate," He mumbled. 

_ Doubt _ . She responded teasingly, and his blush returned full force. 

"Okay, you know what, let's check in with Allura and Coran!" He said shrilly, opening up the screen to the hub, trying to ignore Blue's warm laughter. Allura and Coran both popped up on the screen, looking pleased to see him. 

"Ah, Lance. How is everything going?" Allura smiled down at him.

"Going great Princess, we have everybody transferred, and the tech is almost out and washed off. I'm just on my way to help everybody settle in but I thought I'd report in," He grinned. "Plus I promised Squibble I'd tell them all about my ‘adventures’ of today." 

Allura awwed softly. "Oh how adorable! I do hope I can meet them before we go. I am certainly glad we took this distress call. If anything, it's almost been like a vacation from fighting," She sighed wistfully. Lance winced. 

"Uh huh, yeah, uh, I also wanted to tell you that Keith got shocked by the tech. He's ok, and says it's just a tingling finger, but I figured you'd want to know," He fiddled with his fingers and settled back into his chair, watching Coran's mustache twitch in thought. 

"Don't worry, number two! I'll have a healing pod ready just in case!" He said chipperly and scuttled somewhere off camera. Allura smiled gently at him.

"I'll make sure to check in with them regularly, ok? He'll be fine, don't worry," She assured again. Lance crossed his arms and studied the inside of Blue, who was still laughing at him. 

"I wasn't worried," he insisted, "Keith's just too stubborn to say anything, so I thought I should." Allura was quiet for a second and peered at him before nodding to herself. Lance decided to not let her elaborate on what she was thinking. 

"Alright, Princess. I'll report in later once we've got everything done," He said and she smiled at him knowingly. He grabbed the controls and went to continue up the mountain.

He had just closed the screen when an unsure voice came through a private comm channel. 

"Hey Lance?" Keith asked, voice tight and wobbly. 

"Yeah?"

"You were right. I  _ really _ don't feel good." 

“What?!” Lance screeched, hands flying to his hair. 

“I don’t feel good. My whole body feels numb and I feel like I’m about to throw up,” Keith repeated sluggishly. “Ugh...I’m about to pass out.” 

“Okay, okay buddy I’m comin’. Where are you?” Lance asked frantically.

“I’m still by...by the digging site.” Keith’s voice was breathy and tremulous. “Pidge went to transfer the tech. They aren’t here. I’m by myself” 

“Okay, I’m coming buddy. Stay on the line with me, I’m going to call Allura.” 

“Yup,” Keith groaned. Lance frantically hit the call button, and Allura’s face peered down, looking irked but fond. She took in Lance’s expression and all humor drained from her face. 

“Is it Keith?” She immediately guessed. Lance nodded, pushing Blue’s speed as fast as he could back down to the dumpsite. 

“Yeah, he’s on call with us and I’m on my way. He’s feeling nauseous and numb all over. I’m gonna take him up to the castle,” He could see the Red Lion in the distance, eerily still. 

“I’ll open the hangar doors and inform Coran and the others. Get him up here as fast as you can,” She ordered.

“Yes mam’,” He answered tensely. Allura nodded and cut out. 

“You still there buddy?” He called to Keith, heart in his throat. The silence was deafening. 

“Keith?” 

Silence. 

“Fuck,” Lance whispered, gripping the controls with white knuckles. He kept calling but Keith never answered. 

The seconds felt like minutes, and the minutes felt like hours before Blue finally hit the ground roughly right next to Red. He jumped from his chair and ran down the ramp, silently praying.

_ Por favor, Dios, déjalo estar bien.  _

He tripped on the mud. 

_ Que el desmayó y estará bien _

He reached Red and she opened her ramp.

_ El esta bien. _

He scrambled up, slipping and sliding.

_ Por favor.  _

The doors opened and he ran through to the cockpit. 

Nothing. 

Nobody was there. No poofy, black, horrid mullet peeking up from the front chair. No limp arm hanging off the chair. Lance could only see empty space where the red paladin should’ve been. 

“Keith?!” He ran to the front, checking the floor frantically. Empty. He checked the walls for a note or blood, or something. Nothing. He whirled around, starting to panic. His hands shook where they pulled at his hair. Keith had disappeared. He could distantly feel Blue trying to sooth him down from the edge of hyperventilation. He was about to run back outside to check for tracks when he felt Red distantly prod at him through the paladin bond. 

_ Stay _ . She urged, her usual fire subdued in her worry. Lance took a deep breath and nodded. With shaking hands he checked the room one more time before going up to the keys and checking around the controls. His eyes strayed to the seat where they froze. 

“Keith?” He whispered, unbelieving.

There, lying horizontally on the chair, was a very  _ tiny  _ Keith. He was only about a foot tall, and his head was the size of a grape. He was lying on his side, completely unconscious in his paladin armor, which had shrunken with him. The world suddenly tilted and pain shot up Lance’s tailbone as he fell back and hit the floor hard.

“Oh my god,” He choked, reaching forward. He gently tapped Keith with his pointer finger. 

“Keith? My man?” His voice shook, and he tapped a tiny fraction harder. To his surprise, Keith’s tiny hands twitched. Spurred on, he crowded around the chair and blew gently. 

“Come on, buddy. Wake up,” He begged. 

Keith’s eyelashes fluttered. 

* * *

Keith opened his eyes slowly. Everything hurt. His teeth ached, his spine stung, and he felt thirster that he ever had, even while living in the desert. He groaned and slowly sat upright, rubbing his eyes. A gentle warm wind blew around him. Great, so it was hot wherever he was, and he was thirsty. He opened his eyes again to take a look around. His chest seized. In front of him were the biggest pair of watery blue eyes he had ever seen. They blinked at him before the face backed up to show the smooth, tan face of his teammate.

“LANCE?!” He screamed. Lance smiled wobbly.

“KEITH! YOU’RE AWAKE! HOW YOU FEELING, BUDDY?” Lance said, voice booming deafeningly. Keith covered his ears in pain. 

“Why are you so big Lance?! What happened?” He yelled, hoping Lance could hear him. Lance’s eyes rounded guiltily. 

“Sorry,” Lance breathed, much quieter, “I didn’t mean to hurt your ears.” He then tilted his right ear closer to Keith. “What did you say?”

Keith took his hands off his ears and tripped unsteadily closer to Lance until he was next to the edge of whatever he was standing on. 

“Why are you so big?! What happened?” He cried. Lance pinched his lips and breathed in sharply.

“Keith, I’m not big. You’ve shrunk.” 

Keith stared up at him, stunned. 

Lance continued, “I think it might have been caused by whatever shocked you.” 

At this Keith paused. He bit his lip and backed up, turning around in a circle and taking in his surroundings. Sure enough, he slowly began to recognize everything in the room. The paladin’s chair. The controls. He was inside Red. The Lion in question hummed soothingly in the back of his mind and it grounded him a bit. Lance held out his hands like a platform. He zoned back in on whatever Lance was talking about. 

“We need to get to the Castle. Allura might know what’s going on.”

Keith stared at Lance’s waiting palms and slowly nodded, gulping. He cautiously crawled from the chair to the center of Lance’s right hand, where he grabbed his thumb in a death grip. Lance’s hand shifted minutely and Keith’s stomach dropped. Suddenly he was very, very aware of how far away the floor was. 

“You ready?” Lance asked. Keith inclined his head sharply, breathing out through his nose.

“Okay, I’m gonna try not to jostle you too much,” Lance said, slowly rising up and taking his first steps carefully. The world swayed nauseatingly around Keith and he bit his lip and closed his eyes, tightening his hold. The wind rustled his hair and buffeted him roughly, making him gasp. Lance seemed to catch on to his discomfort and brought his right hand up to shield him from most of the wind’s force. Keith glanced up and took in Lance’s uncharacteristically serious face. He tried to focus on his features instead of the horrifying thought of falling off Lance’s hands. He kept his eyes focused on his deep blue eyes instead of the wind whistling sharply past him. On his soft brown hair instead of the queasiness in his stomach, which was being quickly joined by flitting butterflies. 

“This isn’t helping,” He muttered to himself and closed his eyes again. 

It felt like forever until they made it back to Blue’s cockpit. Lance sat down gently in the cockpit, still cradling Keith close to his chest. 

“How do we do this?” He uttered quietly, searching around. He perked up when he spotted something, and kneeled down to pick it up. Keith stretched his neck and saw Lance bring up his helmet from the floor. 

“I’m gonna put you in here when we fly, okay?” Lance asked him, looking to Keith for confirmation. Keith looked from Lance’s face down to the helmet trapped firmly between Lance’s knees. There was soft padding in the helmet that would keep him from being injured if the force of flying threw him.

“Yeah, that’ll work,” He answered and Lance carefully put his hand in the helmet. Keith slipped off and sat down inside, his head barely managed to pass the rim. He shuffled around, gripping the soft foam, and tried to ignore the scent of the castle’s shampoo that surrounded him. 

“All good?” Lance asked, stirring him from his thoughts.

“Ready when you are,” He responded. Lance gripped his controls and gritted his jaw. 

“Then let’s go.”

Keith felt another lurch in his stomach as Blue took off. He groaned quietly, but didn’t say anything. Instead he just counted to himself and did breathing exercises. 

_ In...1...2...3...4...5...hold...1...2...3...4...5...6...out...7...6...5...4...3...2...1. Repeat. _

_ In...1...2...3...4...5...hold...1...2...3-  _ He repeated the steps a couple times, until his heart rate had dropped back to a safe pace. 

“How you doing down there?” Lance asked from above him. 

“I’m alright,” He called, hoping he wasn’t too quiet for Lance to hear. 

“You’re not still numb or anything?” Lance asked, glancing down with a concerned expression. Keith shook his head and Lance sighed a little in relief. 

“Well we’re almost to the Castle, just a couple more minutes,” Just as Lance finished the sentence Keith could feel Blue slow minutely from the resistance of Eabenon’s atmosphere. Then she broke free and they sped up again. Keith almost was able to relax, until a loud beeping filled the Lion. Lance winced and hit the call button. Allura, Coran, Shiro, and Pidge all popped into the screen from the castle-ship. 

“We heard Keith was hurt, is he okay?!” Hunk voice filtered from above the keyboard, where Keith couldn’t see. 

“He was fine a little while ago!” Pidge cried nervously into the camera. Shiro’s uneasy voice filtered into the cockpit. 

“Lance, where is Keith? I don’t see him with you,” He questioned and Lance breathed in sharply from above him. 

“He’s fine...or, well..he’s not dying at least. He’s with me, you guys just can’t see him, or probably hear him, actually,” He tried to explain, and their voices all overlapped in response.

“What do you mean we can’t see him-?!” Pidge yelled, upset. 

“-Is he passed out? He’s not bleeding is he?” Shiro said, disquieted. 

“Is Keith invisible?? Oh no please tell me he’s not a ghost,” Hunk mumbled, speaking a mile a minute. 

“Hunk, I’m quite sure he’s not a ghost,” Allura said gently. Lance groaned quietly and Keith could practically see the headache forming between his eyes. 

“I’m almost to the castle so, just, -ugh! Have a pod ready okay??” He cried loudly and slammed the comm off. Keith winced. Lance noticed and thinned his lips sheepishly. 

“Oh man, sorry buddy...I might have to sew you a tiny shirt or something that says: “Speak quietly, I am tiny.”- or something.” He laughed humorlessly before peeking down at Keith. Keith mustered his most dead-pan expression and glared up at him. 

“Har har, Lance,” He griped, but felt a bit better when he saw the corners of Lance’s mouth quirk up in muted amusement.

Blue touched down inside the castle as softly as Lance could, and they wasted no time walking to the door, Keith still in Lance’s helmet. 

“You might want to cover your ears again bud, they’re probably going to be loud.” He warned him, Keith nodded before covering his ears. Sure enough, as soon as the doors opened and Lance slid down the ramp, the team was yelling in confusion around him. He could hear Lance shushing them frantically and pointing to Keith in the helmet with the hand he wasn’t carrying him with. Immediately the team grew silent, and he took his hands off his ears. 

“Oh quiznack,” Pidge said breathlessly, staring at Keith with their owl eyes.

Hunk covered his mouth and let out a tiny wail. “Keith’s the size of a carrot! Oh my god, what do we do?!” 

Shiro just gaped for a minute, as did Allura. Coran stepped close to Lance and Keith and bent down so he was looking closely. 

“Oh dear! This is almost as strange as the time my uncle was swallowed by a Hufflegagon! How are you feeling number three?” He asked, only a little less chipper than normal. Keith resisted the urge to lean back from the massive orange mustache that twitched threateningly nearer. 

“I’m okay, I’m not nauseous anymore,” He yelled, hoping everyone could hear him. 

“What did he say?” Shiro asked. Keith groaned. 

“He said he’s okay and that he’s not nauseous anymore,” Lance repeated softly.

“Ohh,” Hunk raised a hand to his forehead, “So that’s why you said we couldn’t see or hear him.” 

“Exactly.” Lance said and turned to Allura, who was still gaping at Keith. “Do you think we should put him in a healing pod?” He asked unsurly. She put her finger to her lips in thought.

“Hmm...yes, I think that would be best. I also think we should contact the Eabenons, they might know how this happened,” She agreed. They all began herding themselves to the medical wing. Shiro walked beside Lance. 

“Quick thinking with the helmet, well done,” He said and patted him on the back before looking down at Keith. “How did you get pricked again?” Keith furrowed his brow and sighed. 

“I picked up what I thought was a dead wire and it shocked me a bit. It was really tiny though, so I wasn’t worried. I’m still not completely sure that’s what it is,” He groaned and crossed his arms, frustrated. “We can’t even form Voltron like this! What are we going to do if Zarkon attacks?” He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “Shit…” 

“Hey, hey! We’ll figure it out, okay? We always have! You won’t be Tiny Keith forever,” Lance grinned reassuringly down at him. 

“And we haven’t asked the Eabenons yet either,” Shiro chimed in. Keith just sighed and fiddled with his gloves. They both knew that they might not be of much help. He stayed quiet though, hoping the healing pod would fix this mess. 

* * *

The healing pod didn’t fix anything. 

Keith had barely been in there for fifteen seconds before the healing pod opened up again and spit him out again. Then it proceeded to let out a terrible string beeping noise that sounded like a drunk R2D2 from the super-vintage earth series _ Star Wars _ . He groaned from the floor and crawled back onto his knees. Lance winced in sympathy. He knew how that felt. 

“Does it say anything?” Keith asked. Allura and Coran hurried to the diagnostic screen, written in Altean. Allura jumped excitedly. 

“Yes! It does! It says that you’re physically healed, but that you’re suffering from a condition called...um..Praebenda Est Augurium. Is that English? That can’t be English,” She murmured to herself. 

“But what does that  _ mean _ ?” He growled. 

“Oh sorry,” She coughed, “It’s basically a shrinking enchantment, and it says that it’ll last only a couple days-”

“...Days?” Keith gaped. “I’m practically useless like this! And it’s going to last for days?” He hid his head in his hands and leaned against the bottom of the healing pod. 

“No paladin of Voltron is  _ ever  _ useless. Besides, we were planning on staying here for a couple days anyway,” She said gently. Shiro knelt down next to him and put a large hand on his shoulder. 

“We were actually thinking of taking a mini-rest here. Maybe try to relax until you turn back, okay?” He soothed. Pidge piped up from where they peered over Coran’s shoulder. 

“But we also can’t just leave him like this either, how’s he going to get from place to place? He can’t get one of us if he feels sick again either,” They pointed out. Allura hummed from the corner. 

“You’re right, one of us will have to stay with him at all times,” She thought for a moment, and a terrifying grin slowly took over her face before she turned to him. Lance’s stomach pinched and he backed up a pace, feeling hunted.

“Lance! How about you pair up with Keith to monitor his health while the rest of us get the Eabenons settled in?” She clapped her hands brightly, ignoring the way both Lance and Keith gaped at her. 

“Wait Princess-” 

“-I don’t think-” 

“This really might not be-” They stuttered and stumbled over one another. Allura only grinned evilly, shooting meaningful glances at the other team members. 

Pidge gasped, seeming to understand the odd look and blurting out. “I think that’s a great idea, and I’ll design a hoverpod for Keith to stay in so he doesn’t have to be carried all the time. I’ll also adjust it so he doesn’t have to shout, and we can’t hurt his ears,” Pidge added before running out of the room at a dead sprint. 

“I’ll help them build it! Coran, maybe you can help?” Hunk cried, grabbing Coran by the arm and forcefully dragging him out of the room. 

“I will go research more about this topic, and ask the Eabenons if they know what has happened,” Allura declared. “Shiro, would you like to join me?” 

Shiro smothered a laugh at Keith’s appalled stare and nodded his agreement. “Yes, I would be very happy to join you, Princess.” 

At this, Keith buried his head in his hands again. Lance just continued to stare at Shiro in a silent accusation as he fled the scene. Before leaving through the door, Shiro turned around and gave him two thumbs up. Lance could barely believe it when Shiro mouthed “ _ Go for it! _ ”

The door closed, leaving Lance and his foot-tall companion in the most awkward silence of their lives. He took a deep breath. 

“Quiznack…” 


	2. Ant-Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance comes up with an unusual-albeit- embarrassing solution for Keith's inability to help the Eabenons move into their new homes. Keith also likes his new clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it takes so long for me to write guys, I'm still getting used to wearing contacts again :P

Keith heard the doors hiss shut behind Shiro, Lance letting out a noisy breath on his departure. 

“Quiznack…” He breathed. Keith grunted in agreement. Turning his head, he checked the clock time on the healing pod. 

Shit, only an hour ago he had been digging around in the mud, oblivious to the horrors to come. He stood up and rubbed at his eyes in frustration. 

“Sorry, Lance. I know you wanted to help the Eabenons settle in,” He glanced up at Lance, who peered down at him, face unusually red. 

“Hey, no. This isn’t your fault, don’t even start thinking like that. Besides, we can still help them together,” He said, placing a hand on his hip in thought. Keith raised an eyebrow at him. 

“How, Lance? The kids would trample me. It’s not like I can run around in a hamster ball,” He sighed. Lance whipped around, eyes wide. 

“Keith,” he breathed, grinning. “That’s brilliant.” He took a threatening step closer and Keith flew to his feet, suddenly feeling like his life was in danger. 

“No, no, Lance, whatever you’re thinking-forget it!” He turned and ran full tilt until he was wedged between the floor and the healing pod. Lance kneeled down and peered through at him, laughing. 

“No Keith! That’d be perfect, they couldn’t crush you that way! You could go into their tunnels and help them get set up!” 

“No, Lance! I am not going to wheel myself around in a hamster ball! We don’t even have one anyway!” He protested.

“Pidge could make one! It could be one standing platform that rolls around you instead. Come on Keith!”

“No!” He insisted. Lance made a peculiar face, and Keith shoved himself further in, just in case he tried to pull him out. 

“Fine,” Lance sighed and stood up until Keith could see of him was his armored shoes. “Then I guess I’ll just have to carry you everywhere, even while I’m helping the Gecko-guys get settled.”

“Eabenons,” Keith muttered, gnawing at his lip. A horrible, awkward silence fell stagnant between them. Keith crawled dejectedly out from underneath the healing pod and sat on the ground. He glared holes into the ground and crossed his arms, sighing. 

“Fine,” He groaned and tried to ignore Lance’s face lighting up. 

“Seriously?!” Lance laughed. Keith’s stomach flipped and he tried to fight the rising blush of embarrassment. 

“Quiznack, yes. You happy now?” He shook his head and walked up to Lance’s feet, which took agonizingly longer than he would ever admit. He glared up at the skyscraper that was his friend. Lance beamed down at him, before kneeling down and holding out the helmet Keith had ridden in. 

“Well, then I guess we better go tell Pidge,” He cheerfully declared, wiggling the helmet as if it were an enticing plate of food instead of alien armor from outer space. Keith frowned up at Lance one more time before rolling his eyes and getting into the helmet. Lance stood up quickly and Keith gripped the foam insides in terror. 

“Lance! Slow down!” He cried and sunk as low as he possibly could in the helmet. 

“Sorry, what did you say?” Lance asked, lifting the helmet to his face. Keith was once again brought before Lance’s massive blue eyes and he gulped, stuck somewhere between breathlessness and motion sickness. 

“Lance,” he breathed slowly, “If you move that quickly again I  _ will _ throw up in your helmet.” 

Lance winced. “Oh, sorry Samurai,” He slowly pulled the helmet close to his chest, and walked more evenly. Keith huffed a sigh of relief but kept a firm grip on the foam. 

Pidge and Hunk were talking animatedly when Lance and Keith walked into what Lance had affectionately dubbed the “Nerd Room”. The room was equipped with all the stuff they ever needed to fix anything. In the corner, Pidge had set up the gaming system they had found on a planet not too long ago.

“-eah but what If it just makes their relationship worse?” Hunk burst out nervously. 

“No no, this is their big chance and I’m not dealing with however many more Deca-Phobes of their miscommunication,” Pidge huffed. Keith and Lance looked at each other, confused. 

“Who’s big chance?” Lance asked, stepping into view. Pidge squeaked and Hunk dropped a toolbox on his toe, yelping as he began jumping up and down in pain. 

“Holy crap guys! How long were you there?!” He cried. Keith frowned, concerned. 

“We just came in,” He replied cautiously. “Who’s big chance?” 

“Sorry man, I couldn’t hear ya. what was that?” Hunk asked, hopping closer.

Keith groaned, rubbing at his temples. He felt the helmet shake and Lance started laughing 

“We just came in, big guy. He asked who's “big chance” you guys were talking about,” He repeated, snorting as he caught Keith’s stink eye. 

“Oh- uh, well-” Hunk stammered. 

“Shiro’s and Allura’s,” Pidge explained, picking up the weird designs they had dropped when they got startled. 

“They’ve been talking about joint-leadership in the Voltron Coalition. I’m excited because that means less mix-ups in the chain of command,” They muttered, scratching at something furiously on their blueprint. 

The mysterious knot in Keith’s stomach loosened and he nodded slowly. 

“Yeah I guess that’s a good Idea,” He muttered and turned to Lance. 

“You were gonna ask about whatever contraption they’re gonna shove me in, right?” He flatly pointed out, shaking Lance out of whatever thought had put a weird, pinched expression on his face. 

“Heck yeah, so, here’s our idea-” Lance sat down next to Pidge putting the helmet, and subsequently Keith, in his lap. He started chattering loudly to Hunk and Pidge about the adjustments to the Rover they were designing, pointing excitedly at the blueprints. Keith settled curled up in the foam, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over him. He watched through lidded eyes as Lance flung his hands about animatedly. He felt his own mouth quirk up as Lance’s eyes crinkled into crows feet in his joy. He hummed a bit when Pidge laughed at something Lance said. Maybe he could do this. He could relax, just Like Shiro said. It would be nice to just watch his teammates laugh, like they all should be at their ages. 

_ Yeah. I can do this.  _

* * *

“It’ll have a volume adjuster. That way no sounds would be too loud of him, and he wouldn’t have to shout to hear us either,” Pidge explained, circling the top portion of the blueprint they and hunk designed. 

“Should It also have a defense mechanism? Like it could spray acid or something if someone tries to steal him?” Lance asked. Pidge snorted and Hunk stared at him incredulously. 

“Lance, he’ll only be like this for a couple days, a week at the very most! When would he possibly need that?” 

Lance shrugged, frowning. “I don’t know! It’s Keith! Anything could happen.” 

  
  


Pidge raised their eyebrows and looked down thoughtfully. “Well, you’ve been right before. Fine, Hunk and I’ll add some time of defense. And a tracker,” They stated, scribbling notes frantically. Lance nodded emphatically, turning to look down at Keith.

“Any preference you have, bud- oh…” He quieted, peering closer. Sure enough, Keith had curled up against the foam of his helmet and fallen asleep. He gaped up at Pidge and Hunk. 

“Guys, look!” He whispered frantically, carefully waving them over. Pidge and hunk crawled over and glanced into the helmet, where Keith was curled up. Pidge smiled softly and Hunk cooed. “Aww! Man, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Keith get some good rest. Don’t wake him up guys.” 

“Yeah, dude even sleeps in his clothes-oh man! Clothes!” Lance looked up at Pidge. “Do you know where we put the sewing kits?” Pidge didn’t even look up from the blueprint and pointed to the cabinets on the far right. Lance slowly and gently moved the helmet from his lap onto the ground next to him before getting up and rummaging through. He noiselessly cheered when he found several stacks of fabric, needles, and threads. He held his spoils up triumphantly and walked back over. 

“What do you need those for?” Pidge asked, confused. Lance peered back over the helmet at Keith, sizing him up. 

“Well, Keith only has the clothes he’s wearing, right? Those are gonna get gross pretty quickly, so I thought I’d sew him a couple new ones,” He softly explained while sketching out a rough outline of how he wanted the shirt to be, before carefully cutting through the layers of fabric. Hunk watched with fascination as he meticulously stitched each miniature article together.

Pidge raised their eyebrows and shook their head fondly. “I’m still surprised you know how to sew at all, Lance.” 

“Hey!” He protested, accidentally pricking himself in the finger and glaring at them. 

“You don’t live in the Mcclain household and not learn how to sew. Mama would have kicked my ass if I didn’t know how to sew by now,” He laughed, tying a knot to finish the first shirt. He smiled wistfully, thinking of the first time he had held a needle. 

_ “MAMA!” Lance cried, running down the stairs into the kitchen while flinging his ripped pants above him like a lasso. Isabel’s head shot up from where she was cutting maduros. She spotted the pants and sighed. _

_ “Oh Lance, novio, again?” She called as Lance came to a skidding halt in front of her. He stood stick straight , his eleven-year old face scrunched up in a silly grin. _

_ “Yes mam!” He yelled, saluting her. She winced at his volume but laughed fondly. She put her knife down, wiped her hands on her apron, and put her hands on her hips.  _

_ “Well then, I think it’s time I taught you how to sew,” She declared. His face dropped and his eyes grew wide.  _

_ “Needles, mama?” He gulped nervously, fiddling with the hole right that had been ripped while playing ‘pirates’. “I don’t know if I can stand needles.” He pleaded, pulling a bit too hard. A harsh rip sounded and he stared down in aghast at the much wider hole he had just made.  _

_ “Oh no,” He whispered. Isabel howled with laughter, slapping the table until there were tears in her eyes. Lance giggled nervously. Isabel placed a hand on his shoulder, still shaking with laughter.  _

_ “Don’t worry, quierdo. I’ll teach you.”  _

Lance smiled down at his needle, trying to ignore the salt in his throat. It had taken a while, a couple years in fact, to get him over his fear of needles. His mama had never lost patience with him though. He shook his head, trying to clear himself of the oncoming spiral he was sinking into. Instead, he glanced around for something to help decorate the tiny red shirt he had just stitched. His eyes settled on Pidge’s marker on the ground. A sudden idea sparked a fire in his head and he snatched it off the ground, uncapping it with his teeth and bending over to scribble on the shirt. In big/tiny letters he wrote:

**Speak quietly, for I am small.**

Looking down at his masterpiece, he grinned happily and folded it into a tiny square. He glanced down at Keith, who was still curled up in his helmet. 

“I should probably get to sleep too guys,” He yawned, stretching. 

“Uh huh, sleep well,” Pidge mumbled, furiously typing at their computer, which was already attached to a rough draft of what would be Keith’s rover. Hunk frowned at him.

“Where’s Keith gonna sleep though?” He asked. Lance shrugged tiredly. 

“I figured I’d make him a tiny bed or something on my dresser. Or maybe he can sleep in the helmet if it’s comfy enough,” At this, Hunk frowned. 

“Hang tight for a second, I’ll try to put something together for him. You make him, like, a tiny pillow or something,” Hunk turned and dug through his tool bag. Lance hummed in agreement. He had just finished sewing most of the sides together when he stopped and looked around for something to stuff it with. Pidge held out their hand, still looking at their computer. Lance reached forward and took whatever it was they had. It was a handful of soft, fluffy fur. He gaped and turned to look at Pidge.

“Where the quiznack did this come from?” He asked, incredulously. 

“I’ve been grooming the Space Caterpillars I saved from the junk planet,” Pidge explained, taking a break from coding to look at him. “Turns out they shed. A lot.” 

Lance giggled and dipped his head in thanks, stuffing the pillow and sewing it shut. Hunk tapped his shoulder and he turned to see a miniature bed. Lance nearly squealed. 

“Oh he’s gonna love this, guys!” He laughed and started sewing a bunch of the softest fabric he could find into a mattress and blanket. Once everything was finished he held up the one-and-a-half-foot bed for everyone to admire. 

“You know…”Pidge whispered, “When we get back down to Earth, we should start our own construction company.” 

Lance and Hunk burst out laughing, and Pidge quickly followed. A slight wobbling came from the helmet.

“Nnngg,” Keith mumbled and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. He blinked blearily up at them. “You guys are still working? It’s not that important, go to sleep,” He yawned. Lance shuffled in excitement and the bed and clothes next to the helmet so Keith could see them. He watched Keith’s sleep-riddled eyes rest on them for a second, before widening hilariously. His mouth dropped open and he gazed up at them, confused. 

“Guys, what?-” He sputtered. Hunk chuckled and waved his hands in a “ta da” gesture.

“We wanted to help you out a little, bud. Being tiny can’t be easy, so we made you some stuff,” He smiled proudly at his little creation.

Keith slowly crawled out of the helmet until he was standing in front of the bed. He ran his hands over the clothes, holding them up. Lance barely managed to hold in his laughter when Keith read the words and slowly turned to stare at him. 

And then something beautiful happened. 

Keith laughed. 

He truly laughed. His eyes creased into crescent moons, his teeth poked out in a wide smile, and then he tipped his head back and let out the loudest laughter his teeny tiny body could manage. He shook with it, bracing himself against his new bed as he doubled over, hands curled in to clutch the shirt to his chest so he wouldn’t drop it. He wheezed and tried to stop, only to pause for a second and start cracking up all over again. 

Lance felt frozen to his spot, like he couldn’t do anything but stare at Keith dissolving into sheer happiness. His heart jumped to his throat and it was only when Hunk gave him a subtle nudge that he managed to look away. He turned to Hunk, still wide-eyed. 

“Yeah?” He croaked out. Hunk just smiled at him knowingly. 

“Nothing bud, I’m just glad he liked our gifts,” At this, Keith perked his head back up and nodded enthusiastically. 

“I do, thank you guys so much. I’ve honestly never gotten this much stuff before in my life, not even on my birthday, holy shit,” He exclaimed, still giggling to himself. Lance tried to hold back a frown, but he’s not so sure he succeeded. 

Hunk also seemed a bit put-off by this and leaned forward. “What? We can’t have that! When’s your birthday?” 

Keith looked up from another shirt Lance had sewed, the one that said “The Secret World of Keith” in reference to one of Keith’s favorite old-fashioned Ghibli movies.

“Huh? Oh, it’s on October 23rd. You really don’t have to get me anything though, this is more than enough, thank you,” He whispered, gracing them with another small smile. 

Lance’s mind raced a mile a minute. Keith’s birthday was only four days away, and none of them had known. 

He grit his jaw determinedly. No friend of his was going to have a depressing birthday. Discreetly he met Pidge and Hunk’s eyes. They both looked at him like cheshire cats. He inclined his head slightly and they all looked back at Keith, who was sitting on his new bed, completely oblivious to what had just happened. Lance felt the stirrings of mischief take hold. 

They were going to throw him a quiznacking  _ awesome _ party. 

* * *

Before Keith had even known it, he had been taken to Lance’s room and dropped on the bathroom sink with his new pajamas.

“Turn the fan off when you’re done and I’ll come get you, okay?” Lance directed, looking up at him for confirmation as he dropped a massive assortment of products on the ledge next to Keith, who bobbed his head yes in a daze. 

“Okay. I’ll leave you to it then,” Lance grinned and closed the door. 

And with that, Keith was left in the Altean bathroom by himself. He could vaguely hear Lance rustling about behind the door over the fan. He sighed and sat down for a moment, trying to sort through today’s events. His gaze slid over to the pajamas Lance had made for him. He chuckled as he read the writing on the shirt. 

Keith In Wonderland

He carefully folded it back up again before walking to the sink handles. He frowned to himself.

“How the hell am I gonna do this?” He wondered aloud. 

He settled on jumping as hard as he could on the drain until it closed, and tugging the hot water valve until It turned on. Stripping down, he slipped into the mini-bath he had created. He blinked the water out of his eyes and settled back, taking a look around the room. 

It was so big. The toilet in the corner was making an odd humming sound he had never heard before. The ground shook with Lance’s footsteps. The heat of the water fizzled into the air. Even the rush of the fan was like a helicopter. The very sink Keith was bathing in felt like miles above the ground.

Very suddenly, Keith was not okay. 

He sat up quickly, trying to get out of the water. He slipped on the side of the sink and the water splashed on his face. That was not okay. 

The heat clung to him, choking his throat and making it impossible to breathe. That was not okay. 

The water coated his skin like a suffocating blanket. That was not okay. 

“Lance!” He tried to choke out. It was pointless, there was no way Lance would hear him from this far. Especially with the fan on. 

The fan got louder, it pounded in his head. That was not okay. 

Keith managed to stumble out of the sink. He couldn’t breathe. Darkness creeped at the edge of his vision, and he stumbled. 

He landed. 

Right onto a set of pajamas. His pajamas. Lance made those for him.The fabric was soft and slightly scratchy, but it didn’t hurt his head. It didn’t choke him. Didn’t suffocate him. They were his, Lance made them especially for him. 

He clutched them close and buried his face into it.

_ In...1...2...3...4...5... _ He closed his eyes. 

_ Hold...1...2...3...4...5...6… _ He heard a gentle humming from beyond the fan. 

_ Out...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... _ He rubbed the scratchy fabric. 

_In...1...2...3...4...5…_ _My name is Keith Kogane_

_ Hold...1...2...3...4...5...6…I am 18 years old. _

_ Out...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...I am going to be okay.  _

_ In...1...2...3...4...5… _ He smelled the fabric, it was a pleasant, dusty smell. 

_ Hold...1...2...3...4...5...6… _ He listened to Lance’ voice, smooth and soothing. 

_ Out...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... _ He opened his eyes. 

The light burned his eyes a little, but he didn’t really feel it. He let himself lay on the sink, wet and naked. He simply breathed and listened to Lance sing, all the while clinging to his pajamas. He absent-mindedly noticed the trail of hot tears streaming down his face.

Lance was truly a lovely singer. Whatever he was singing, it did wonders to calm Keith’s frayed nerves. 

He let himself lie there for as long as he needed. 

He wasn’t sure if five minutes or thirty minutes had passed by the time he managed to sit up, but the water had long gone cold. He let it stay that way, a cold bath might actually help him a little. He slipped back in and quickly scrubbed himself clean, not wanting to risk another panic attack or sensory overload. He managed to drain the sink, and turned on the faucet to get a large drink of water. He wasn’t quite sure which of Lance’s stuff was what, but he felt clean and smelled fine so that was good enough for him. He swiftly hopped out, dried himself off, and picked up his pajamas again. After putting them on, he turned to look at himself in the mirror. 

He looked fine, all things considering. He looked pretty put together, considering what he had just gone through a couple minutes prior. He peered at the clothes and for yet another time that day, had to repress a smile. For their size they really were incredibly well made. Keith could almost see Lance sitting on a couch, sewing dolly clothes for his siblings. He shook his head fondly, and scampered over to the lights, flicking the fan off. 

The humming in the other room stopped, and he missed it immediately. But soon, Lance had knocked on the door. 

“I’m coming in, buddy!” He warned before opening the door. “You were in there a while, you ok?” He asked. Keith nodded and sighed a bit. 

“Yeah, I’m uh, I’m just trying to get used to everything I guess. It’s a bit much.” 

Lance looked at him sympathetically and wiped the counter clean of any water Keith might have trailed anywhere. 

“I get it, buddy. If there’s anything I can do to make it easier for you, just ask, man. Or if you need someone to go to, I’m open...I mean, you’d probably prefer Shiro for that, but, uh, yeah, you know what I mean…” He stammered. Keith felt warmth spread in his stomach and he smiled up at Lance. 

“Thanks Lance,” He breathed. 

Lance held out his hand for Keith to step into, and grinned. “No problem, ready to go?” He asked.

Keith nodded and jumped into his hand, ecstatic to get out of the bathroom. 

Lance led him over to a face-high dresser next to his bed. On top of it was Keith’s new bed, clothes, and a thimble full of water, “in case he got thirsty”, as Lance had fleetingly explained previously. There, he set him down and set his hands on his hips, huffing with exhaustion. 

“I’m gonna go do my skin routine, I’ll be out in a minute. Need anything?” He asked, turning those blue eyes on Keith. He quickly shook his head. 

“No no, I’m good,” He quickly denied, sitting down on his bed. Lance nodded and shot him his signature finger guns before turning and walking into the bathroom. Keith tugged at his fingers nervously and cautiously observed Lance’s room. It felt weird, almost wrong to be there, but he was going to spend almost a week there so he felt he should get used to it.

The wall facing the bed had pictures all over it of the paladins on their many excursions. A group photo of themselves on a planet that had an ocean was right in the center, with little pictures of the rest of them spread out around it. A picture of Hunk attempting once again to make the food goo edible was on the left, and one of Coran balancing all the mice on his head was on the right. On the top a photo of Pidge was wrapped up in a blanket, glasses reflecting mysteriously in the light of their commuter. 

There was Shiro, who looked like he was trying and utterly failing to be stern at Hunk during training. Keith didn’t blame him, Hunk is too nice to be harsh with.

Next to him was Allura, who was wearing a face mask in a makeshift spa outfit, grinning wildly at the camera.

He chuckled and dropped his eyes to the bottom picture. It was a candid photo of himself in the kitchen, smiling softly at someone off camera. Recognition sparked and he felt blood rush to his face, remembering the events of that day. 

A mission had ended roughly, and Lance had to be put in a healing pod for a while. They had all been trying to deal with their stress in their own ways, but nobody was really talking about it. The castle had felt like a grave. There were no jokes, no genuine smiles, simply breaking the fragile silence had felt taboo. Then, two days later, Lance had popped out onto the ground, immediately getting swept up in emotional embraces. They took him to the kitchen to eat, Hunk showing Lance the goo-pudding he had stress-baked, when Lance randomly made a  _ terrible  _ pun. It had been so horrible that everyone had either groaned or put their head down on the table. Keith, however, was not quick enough to stop a little giggle from escaping, and Lance finger-gunned at him with that same stupid, unfalteringly beautiful smile he always had. Keith had just shaken his head and let himself, for just a second, smile with all the relief and joy he felt that Lance was going to be fine. 

He hadn’t seen someone, probably Pidge, take the picture, but the evidence was there, hanging innocently on Lance’s wall. It felt odd, seeing himself fit so well into Lance’s little family album, but he was stupidly pleased. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he buried himself in the sheets. He turned himself over so he couldn’t see the wall and shut his eyes determinedly, berating himself. 

_ This doesn’t matter anyway. We’re in the middle of war, and we have bigger issues than my silly crush. _

Barely two seconds later Lance steps out of the bathroom, gently smacking his face with one of the many sirums Keith had seen. Keith heard the sheets rustle as Lance got in, then the lights flashed off. Silence stretched for a moment and little  _ pat pat _ noises reached Keith from where Lance was tapping at his covers restlessly. 

“Keith,” he whispered, “you awake?” 

Keith hummed a confirmation, and turned over to face him. 

“What’s up?” He yawned. Lance pursed his lips and met his gaze guiltily. 

“I, um, I wanted to apologize, in case I made you uncomfortable with the whole hamster thing...I don’t want to force you into an embarrassing situation, I just thought that it would be helpful if you wouldn’t have to run the risk of being stepped on-or run over,” Lance rambled rapidly, gaining speed and nervousness with every syllable. 

“I was talking to Pidge about it and it won’t look like a hamster ball at all, more like a beach-ball if we’re being honest. If you still don’t like that I’d be happy to continue-” 

“WHOA, Lance! Slow down, it’s fine, I’m not upset,” Keith cut in, alarmed. Lance froze, looking up and gripping the duvet. 

“Are you sure?” He mumbled timidly, and Keith nodded firmly. 

“It’s fine Lance, you didn’t make me uncomfortable for anything. Actually, I’ve been meaning to thank you,” Lance opened his mouth, probably to interject, but Keith shook his head and held up a hand. 

“I don’t mean just for the gifts. You booked it down to Red to help me when I was in trouble, and you’ve been helping me ever since, even making me clothes,” He pointedly looked Lance in the eye. “Thank you.” 

Lance’s cheeks flared with color and he laughed nervously.“We’re a team right? We’re family, that’s what we do. I know you’d have my back if I needed you, so you can count on us back, ok? You don’t need to push yourself too hard, we got your back buddy,” He stated softly, then snuggled down into the blanket until only his head was exposed. 

Keith hummed and copied his actions, closing his eyes once more. 

“Goodnight Lance,” He uttered softly. 

“Goodnight Keith,” Lance answered back. 


End file.
